Skip to content
1981
The Changing face of the EU’s Audiovisual Media Policy
  • ISSN: 2516-3523
  • E-ISSN: 2516-3531

Abstract

The current commentary will provide an overview of Ireland’s proposed legislation for regulating video-sharing platform’s (VSPs) user-generated content and the proposed Irish national regulatory framework that will oversee it. Many of the largest VSPs, such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, designated for regulation under the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (EU) 2018/1808 (AVMSD), base their European operations in the Republic of Ireland. Thus, based on the country of origin (CoO) principle, the Irish National Regulatory Authority (NRA) will regulate the harmful user-generated content, and commercial content of the largest VSPs and platforms with in which shared video is a significant feature. The commentary will also address the concerns raised by Ireland’s political-economic model and the inferred light-touch regulation interpreted as an aspect of how the State competes for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). A low corporate tax regime, well-educated English-speaking population and access to the European Union has made Ireland a favoured location for primarily US-based technology companies. Alongside these attractions is a recent history of market-conforming governance that has left Ireland open to criticism of trading light-touch regulation for FDI. Ireland’s initial light-touch approach to Europe-wide data privacy regulation has been a case in point.

© 2021 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jdmp_00080_7
2021-11-01
2026-04-23

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Barata, J.. ( 2020;), ‘ Regulating content moderation in Europe beyond the AVMSD. ’, 2 February, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/medialse/2020/02/25/regulating-content-moderation-in-europe-beyond-the-avmsd/. Accessed 5 May 2020.
  2. Comreg ( 2010), Submission from Commission for Communications Regulation to the Review Group on State Assets and Liabilities, Dublin:: Comreg;.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Department of Tourism, Culture Arts, Gaeltacht and the Media ( [2019] 2020;), ‘ Online Safety Media Regulation Bill 2019: General Scheme. ’, 1 January, https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/d8e4c-online-safety-and-media-regulation-bill/2020. Accessed 18 December 2020.
  4. European Commission ( 2018;), ‘ Directive (EU) 2018/1808 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 amending Directive 2010/13/EU on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive) in view of changing market realities. ’, 28 November, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2018/1808/oj. Accessed 18 December 2020.
  5. European Commission ( 2020;), ‘ Guidelines on the practical application of the essential functionality criterion of the definition of a “video-sharing platform service” under the Audiovisual Media Services Directive European Commission (2020/C 223/02). ’, 7 July, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52020XC0707(02)&from=EN. Accessed 18 December 2020.
  6. European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA) ( 2020;), ‘ Memorandum of Understanding between the National Regulatory Authority Members of the European Regulators Group of Audiovisual Media Services. ’, 3 December, https://erga-online.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ERGA_Memorandum_of_Understanding_adopted_03-12-2020_l.pdf. Accessed 5 May 2020.
  7. Gocke-Dessemond, E. ( 2019), Restoring Competition in ‘Winner-Took-All’ Digital Platform Markets, UNCTAD Research Paper No. 40, Geneva:: UNCTAD;.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) ( 2021;), ‘ Submission to the Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht on the General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill. ’, 3 March, https://www.ihrec.ie/app/uploads/2021/03/IHREC-Submission-to-the-Joint-Committee-on-Media-Tourism-Arts-Culture-Sport-and-the-Gaeltacht-on-the-General-Scheme-of-the-Online-Safety-and-Media-Regulation-Bill-FINAL.pdf. Accessed 15 March 2021.
  9. Kuklis, L.. ( forthcoming;), ‘ Video-sharing platforms in AVMSD: A new kind of content regulation. ’, in P. Parcu, and E. Brogi. (eds), The Research Handbook on EU Media Law and Policy, New York:: Edward Elgar;, https://www.academia.edu/41998898/Video_sharing_Platforms_in_AVMSD_A_New_Kind_of_Content_Regulation. Accessed 12 January 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. McIntyre, T.. ( forthcoming;), ‘ Regulating the information society: Data protection and Ireland’s Internet Industry. ’, in R. Farrell, and N. Hardiman. (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Irish Politics, Oxford:: Oxford University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Rozgonyi, K.. ( 2020;), ‘ Negotiating new audiovisual rules for video sharing platforms: Proposals for a responsive governance model of speech online. ’, Revista Catalana de Dret Públic, 61, pp. 83–98, https://doi.org/10.2436/rcdp.i61.2020.3537. Accessed 14 February 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Vinacour, N.. ( 2019;), ‘ How one country blocks the world on data privacy: A transatlantic politico investigation. ’, Politico, 24 April, https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/24/ireland-data-privacy-1270123. Accessed 10 January 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Murphy, Kenneth. ( 2021;), ‘ The regulation of video sharing platforms and harmful content in Ireland and Europe. ’, Journal of Digital Media & Policy, 12:3, pp. 513–20, https://doi.org/10.1386/jdmp_00080_7
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/jdmp_00080_7
Loading
  • Article Type: Commentary
Keyword(s): AVMSD; European Union; hate speech; Ireland; regulation; video sharing platforms

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test